Editor’s note: The following guest commentary from Mike Koehler, an Assistant Professor of Business Law at Butler University and an active writer and speaker on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act topics, first appeared on the FCPA Professor Blog. It has been reprinted below with permission.

To read the original post, click here. To see our story on last week’s undercover FCPA sting, click here.

FCPA Undercover

By Mike Koehler

The Africa Sting case is indeed the largest and most dramatic use of pro-active, undercover investigative techniques in an FCPA investigation.

However, contrary to numerous reports and even statements attributed to DOJ officials, the Africa Sting case is not the first time that pro-active, undercover investigative techniques have been used in an FCPA investigation. In other words, this is not a new development as demonstrated below.

Shu Quan-Sheng

In September 2008, Shu Quan-Sheng (a naturalized U.S. citizen and President, Secretary, and Treasurer of AMAC International (“AMAC”), a high tech company located in Virginia with an office in Beijing, China) was charged in a criminal complaint (see here and here) with, among other things, offering bribes to Chinese “foreign officials” in violation of the FCPA.

An affidavit (see here) in support of the criminal complaint by an FBI special agent describes several pro-active, undercover investigative methods including court authorized electronic surveillance and physical surveillance. Among other things, the affidavit describes several phone conversations Shu participated in connection with the bribery scheme.

Shu plead guilty to FCPA violations (among other charges) and was sentenced to 51 months in prison. (see here).

Gerald and Patricia Green

In January 2008, Gerald and Patricia Green, owners and operators of Film Festival Management (a private Los Angeles based private entertainment company) were criminally indicted for conspiring to bribe an official with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and for making improper payments to the TAT official in violation of the FCPA. (see here and here).

The criminal charges were supported by an affidavit (see here) from an FBI special agent which describes several pro-active undercover investigative methods, including a multiple agent trip to Thailand to witness Mr. Green meeting with the Thai “foreign official.”

In September 2009 (see here), the Greens were found guilty by a federal jury of substantive FCPA violations, conspiracy to violate the FCPA, and other charges. The Greens are scheduled to be sentenced in March 2010.

William Jefferson

In June 2007, then U.S. Congressman William Jefferson was criminally indicted (see here and here). The charges included substantive FCPA violations and conspiracy.

According to numerous media sources (see here), the FBI affidavit released in connection with the investigation describes several pro-active, undercover investigative techniques including cooperating witnesses wearing FBI wires and video surveillance.

In August 2009, Jefferson was acquitted of substantive FCPA charges by a federal jury, but convicted of a wide range of other charges. (see here for more on the Jefferson case). In November 2009, Jefferson was sentenced to 13 years in prison and he remains free on bail pending his appeal.

WrageBlog (see here) has also identified two other previous instances of pro-active, undercover investigative techniques employed in connection with FCPA investigations.